As the Middle East conflict intensified over the past few weeks, calls from readers have been sporadic, but their complaints have been earnest. Whether pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian, some readers consider The Courant biased.
A Page 1 photo of a destroyed Palestinian police complex on March 7 compelled Nick Korns of Glastonbury to complain in an e-mail: “As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has escalated, The Courant has consistently displayed front-page stories and photos of Israeli military actions and their results, and downplayed Palestinian attacks, primarily suicide bombings. The latter are rarely on the front page, and coverage is given short shrift, often buried within the story on the Israeli retaliation … your coverage clearly portrays the Israelis as aggressors, and minimizes the suicidal terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians. ”
On March 12, when most of Page 1 was devoted to stories about the six-month anniversary of 9/11, a photo and story about an Israeli raid on a Palestinian refugee camp that left dozens dead appeared on Page A3. The story placement moved a reader to ask: “Do Palestinian lives matter?”
“The last few days and the slaughter of nearly 60 Palestinians (17 by your account on Page 3 in today’s paper, but 20 by the morning radio news) merits no bold headlines on the front page? And no outrage in the opinion columns?” wrote Sadu Nanjundiah, a physics professor at Central Connecticut State University. “Imagine if the scenario was reversed, and it was Israeli lives that were at stake?”
Photo choices and placement, labeling Palestinian attacks as the work of terrorists or suicide-bombers, and using “retaliation” to describe what seems like a never-ending sequence of violence – all of these things are scrutinized by readers. The perceptions on both sides cannot be discounted. But neither can The Courant’s effort to present the tragic events in the Middle East fairly.
“We do consider issues of fairness and balance – all the time – but at the end of the day, we have to use our best judgment and let the chips fall. We can’t allow partisan concerns to paralyze our news judgment,” said Bernie Davidow, assistant managing editor/news.
I would have to agree with most editors in the newsroom that The Courant’s news coverage is what it should be: objective and balanced. No news stories are taken lightly, but when it comes to the Mideast, photo editors and news editors are particularly sensitive about checking sources and trying to assess the importance of stories and photos. Columnists and the opinion pages bring more depth to the dialogue. There may be missteps here and there, but one story or one picture or one headline on any given day should not be the factor that determines whether The Courant is balanced. The effort has to be evaluated over time, as events unfold.
Of course, The Courant isn’t alone in being accused of biased news coverage. My conversations with reader representatives across the country show that other newspapers are struggling with this perception.
At the Chicago Tribune, the debate has been rigorous. Don Wycliff, the Tribune’s public editor, said that over the past six months, there have been “two demonstrations in front of the paper. Rabbis called on their congregations to cancel the Tribune and take the Sun-Times instead. Not a day goes by when I don’t get several letters complaining of our anti-Israel bias.” But Wycliff insisted in a recent column, “I am convinced, the Tribune has nothing to apologize for in its Middle East coverage and a great deal to be proud of.”
At the Detroit Free Press, which serves one of the largest Arab American and American Arab populations in the United States and a large, diverse and vocal Jewish community, public editor John X. Miller also hears from both sides of the conflict. “The biggest complaint we get is accuracy in reporting daily events … and headline and photo caption accuracy. The paper holds roundtables to let readers air their concerns.
The Orlando Sentinel’s public editor, Manning Pynn, said, “We had been receiving a good bit of complaints – from both sides.” Again, readers were invited to news meetings to discuss their concerns with editors.
The Courant has held roundtables and discussions in the past. And it is willing to do so in the future. Let’s keep the dialogue going. The exchange of perceptions goes a long way in building a balanced newspaper.
